


Favors

by crescent_gaia



Series: Strange Bedfellows [4]
Category: The Blacklist (TV)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Blacklist: Season 2, F/M, background Ressler/Reddington
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-19
Updated: 2014-12-19
Packaged: 2018-03-02 07:10:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2803967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crescent_gaia/pseuds/crescent_gaia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three favors between Aram, Liz, and Ressler.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Favors

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Raisintorte](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raisintorte/gifts).



> Happy Holidays! I love this prompt by Raisintorte, who asked for Aram/Liz, and I fell in love with the pairing. Thanks for letting me explore something new with the show I love so much. This is set during season two with the last part right after the Decemberist. Cheers!

“I need a favor.”

It seems that’s how everything starts between them. Liz asking for a favor and, Aram, for the most part, wanting to help her. It’s hard not to want to help her, even Ressler agrees with that, and Ressler’s the one with a heart of steel. His heart, on the other hand, is soft and squishy and just wanting to please her. It’s the only reason that he looks away from camera surveillance of a suspect to look up at her. “Sure; what is it?”

She looked around before moving closer to him in order to whisper. “I need a safe place to hide a CI.”

He raised an eyebrow. The only CI he could think of Liz working with was Red and, for the most part, the master criminal had his own places to hide in. “You have more than one?”

“For right now, I do,” she said. “He’s in a temporary location, since he was injured, but he can’t stay there. I’m looking into other places to put him, but I need something out of the way and where nobody can overhear us. Do you know of any places like that?”

“Yeah,” he said, splitting his screen in two as he pulled up a boat. “It’s been just sitting there since we processed it as a crime scene a while ago. Nobody’s using it and it’s just out there in the archives. Think that’s going to be good enough?”

She smiled. “It’s excellent. Can you make it so nobody will go out there to look?”

He punched a couple of keys, making it that the boat was off limits and also put in an alert that would come to him if anybody decided to do a search on the boat. “There you go.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” she said, touching his shoulder as she stood up straight. “Anything new on the case we’re working on?”

He blinked; the touch was the first time that they really had anything since the siege on the post office. However, instead of commenting on it, he turned his attention back to the screen. “Not yet – wait,” he said and pointed out a familiar person. “That’s Reddington with Ressler in tow.”

“Those two have a complicated relationship,” she said. “Cooper knows, so don’t worry about reporting it, okay?”

“I’ll forget I ever saw it,” he said, smiling and pulling back the surveillance up to full screen to do his job. He kept one on it while he watched her walk away and repressed a sigh. He wanted to know more about what she wanted with the boat, but he also knew that it would be better than to ask. Other than that, all he could do was wait for an opening. It was the advice that was given to him, by none other than Ressler, and he was going to try his best to stick to it. Even though it might be the hardest thing to do in his life.

*~*~*~*

“What am I supposed to do again?” Aram asked, dressed in a nice crisp black suit and matching tie. He fidgeted with the new laptop case before Liz gently touched his arm and got rid of a bit of lint. “I mean, I don’t go out into the field, I’m not sure why you need me.”

“The man we’re meeting with doesn’t trust women completely but doesn’t mind looking at them. You’re handing over a thumb drive with a virus on it that the buyer requested. When the money changes hands, you’ll leave with Agent Keen and we’ll move in. Unless there’s a move sooner than that, we’ll move sooner,” Ressler replied. “We’ll be listening the entire time and Agent Keen will be right there with you. There’s no reason to worry. Excuse me.” He moved away from the pair, talking to another agent that was helping with the task.

“Right,” Aram said, taking a deep breath. “Okay. A favor?”

“Name it,” she said, fixing his tie a bit as she looked at him.

“Make sure I come out alive?” he asked. “I mean, you don’t have to, and I’ll understand if you find it strange, but I just – “

“I understand,” she replied. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, okay? We’re just going to walk in; you’ll do your thing and I’ll do my best to sit next to you and just be pretty. We’ll be fine. It’s just a hand off.”

“Okay,” he said. “Okay, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she said. “Remember to call me Rebecca, okay? You’re Amir and we’re meeting Johann.”

“Right,” he said. He swallowed his nerves and followed her in, moving to the table where an Icelandic man was waiting for them. He looked at the man and then to Liz. “Is this him?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Johann, this is my boss, Amir, the creator. Amir, Johann, our buyer.”

Johann stood and shook Aram’s hand. “A pleasure to meet the man behind the lady. Even though she is a beautiful one, I am a bit old fashioned.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Aram replied after swallowing down a lump in his throat. His hands were now sweating and he took a deep breath, wiping them off on a towel. “Pardon my hands; I sometimes sweat too much.”

“It’s quite alright,” Johann said. “You have it then?”

Aram looked to Liz and nodded. She took out a small case, putting it on the table to show the flash drive. “The package, as you requested, and built to the specs that you wished.”

Johann took the flash drive, inserting it into a mini computer and looking over the code. “This is flawless. You do amazing work; Reddington was right to recommend you.”

Aram smiled. “Well, I don’t do it for free.”

“Of course,” Johann said. He took out the thumb drive and called up a website, punching a few keys before offering it to Aram to put in his own code for the bank account. Aram did, putting in an FBI untraceable account, and handing it back to him. “I’ll be sure to pass along recommendations for your work, Mister Amir.”

“Thank you,” Aram said and stood up. “Rebecca, we should go.”

“Of course,” Liz said, getting up and smiling to Johann before giving a bow of her head. She turned and left towards the door with Aram standing there a moment.

“Do you rent her out?” Johann asked with a laugh. 

Aram looked at him and glared. “No,” he replied in a cold voice before turning on his heel and stalking out of the restaurant. He was grateful there was a bit of shadow to duck into near the van to take a deep breath and clear his head. Ressler and the rest of the team were in the process of arresting Johann and Liz came over to him, seeing his hands shake. “Sorry.”

“It was stressful and out of your comfort zone,” she said and touched his shoulder. “Thank you. For this and how you said no.”

“I – I just – I have feelings for you but I’m never sure when it’s going to be the right time for them,” he said quietly.

“Soon,” she replied and kissed his cheek. She turned her head as she heard her named called and walked over to where Ressler was. Aram just watched her and relaxed more against the wall before going back into work mode. He could wait and be patient; he just hoped it wouldn’t be for too long.

*~*~*~*

Aram had just finished his journal entry for the day when Ressler sat down next to him. He blinked as a coffee cup was put down in front of him and coughed hard after tasting the liquid inside of it. “That’s horrible.”

“Sorry, should have warned you,” Ressler said, looking over to where Liz was. “Have you made your move yet?”

Aram blinked and looked to where Ressler was looking. “Not yet. Just never felt like a good time and… I don’t want her to rush.”

“A favor then? Take her out for drinks. Or dinner. Whichever you’re more comfortable with,” Ressler said as he stood up.

“I just – I thought you were closer with her,” Aram said.

“I’ve got my own relationship problems. And one of her family is more than enough for me,” Ressler said with a wink before heading off.

Liz came over to him. “What was that about?”

“Just… weird,” Aram replied, looking up at her. “Want to go get a drink?”

“I feel like I could down an entire bottle at the moment,” she said. “I’ve got a place if you don’t.”

“I’d like to see it,” he said, getting up and getting his coat. He walked out with her and, when they got to the elevator, watched her take his hand. After they got on and the doors closed, he raised his hand and softly kissed it. 

“I can’t do fast right now,” she whispered.

“I know. I don’t want to do it fast. I want to do it right, for the both of us, and make sure we’re ready.”

She smiled, turning and softly kissing him. “Thank you.”

He blinked before smiling and kissing her back. “You’re welcome.”

She led him out of the elevator to where her car was waiting and they both got in. Instead of going to the bar, she took him back to the hotel room where she was living for the moment. Opening a bottle, they spilled their secrets – him about his blog, hers about Tom – and ended the night curled up around each other in her bed. Falling asleep together was the best ending for the both of them for the moment, no matter what or who came next to darken their work.

**Author's Note:**

> Not our typical Strange Bedfellows, is it? :) I couldn't add it to the series before now because it would have given me away. I still hope that everyone likes it and we get to see a bit of what Liz is up to. Cheers!


End file.
